Children’s Program

During Traditional Song, Celtic and Old-Time Music & Dance Weeks we offer a full-day program for children ages 6-12, whose parents are participating in the Swannanoa Gathering taught by Children’s Program Coordinator Melissa Hyman. Remember, space is limited. Children must have turned 6 by July 1st to participate. No exceptions please. Program activities are scheduled during class periods, and parents are responsible for their children at all other times. Those bringing children should indicate so on their registration form. Children under 12 may stay in a room with two adults, at least one of whom is a registered student, at no charge, other than the cost of meals. The accompanying adult should provide each child’s bedding (mattress, sheets, blankets, pillow), and both adults must request the arrangement. In the case of a single adult with child(ren), they will be housed together and charged an additional single room feefor the week as long as space permits. Evening childcare for ages 3-12 will be provided at no additional cost.

PROGRAMS FOR 2018

This summer, we’ve got an especially dreamy theme picked out: it’s all about DREAMS! The Swannanoa Gathering Children’s Program Dream Team will journey together into a world limited only by our own wild imaginations. We’ll make our own dream-catchers, and learn about the Native American traditions and tales behind these beautiful crafts. We’ll learn about and even make our own surrealist art, with the wacky dreamscapes of Magritte and Dalí – among others – as our inspiration. We’ll explore and talk about what happens in our brains while we’re asleep, to create all those crazy scenarios we half-remember in the morning. Why did you dream about your teacher frying an egg while tap-dancing to Beyoncé songs and standing on her head?? We’ll sing, craft, play games and read stories in our classroom (which will be transformed into a beautiful dreamscape, of course) and even talk about ways to make our most fabulous dreams come true. We’ll write our own original songs on our Dream Theme, with the help of our talented and imaginative music teacher and some extra-dreamy-sounding instruments. We’ll make new friends, play our favorite messy games, and dress up in crazy clothes. At the end of the week parents will get to hear us sing and see the crafts we’ve made at our big performance at the Student Showcase. As a special treat, we will be visited throughout the week by wandering musicians and artists (Gathering staff) who will perform just for our kids. We will, of course, continue our beloved traditions of shaving cream hairdos, movie night, crazy contests and the Gathering Scavenger Hunt. Get ready to dream away the week with your friends at the SGCP! There is a $30 art/craft materials fee for this class; fee is payable by cash or check to Melissa Hyman, the Children’s Program coordinator, on arrival.

A typical day includes a lot of arts & crafts, games, swimming, jokes, snacks, silliness AND singing, singing, singing AND music class. Melissa hires a dedicated music teacher to come in after lunch each day and she performs with the children at the end of the week in the student showcase. There will also be visitations from Gathering staff each day, sort of like mini-concerts, just for the kids!